


Multifaceted

by The_Birds_And_Bees



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 20:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/944126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Birds_And_Bees/pseuds/The_Birds_And_Bees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And then Ventus sat down and told him what he'd never wanted to hear; that all they'd been doing this whole time was hiding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Multifaceted

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't particularly in character. It's more an exploration of the relationship scenario than explicitly inciting the characters themselves.
> 
> Reported from Lj and ff.net; one of my favorites.

Being with Sora was like combining the Gummy Bears cartoon with Robot Unicorn Attack. So bright and lively and adventurous and constantly moving, so fast that Vanitas often wondered how he even managed to keep up, but on the days that he did, he knew he could expect to never do the same thing twice.

Sora was a summer romance; usually they never spent more than one day at a time together every few weeks, and when they did it was always about what place they could ruin with PDA next, running around and giggling to one another in some secret code that made sense for that moment but wouldn't five minutes later.

They'd spend their day covering most of the city and surrounding countryside, then they'd buy something foreign for dinner and feed it to each other down by the docks, and go to the fair or arcade until midnight before sneaking into their apartment like giggling idiots, something that made Ventus tilt his head in bemusement whilst Roxas merely snickered into the darker blonde's hair. And then they'd go to bed, and the sex was about squeals and laughter and just being happy to be together, mischievous licks and nips to ears and carrying on like idiots until they both crashed down from the sugar high and went comatose for the following day, curled about each other in a tangle of limbs and mingled, relaxed breaths.

Sora was happy. Sora was sunbeams and wide smiles and rushing from place to place and doing stupid things with shit eating grins on their faces, and having fun. It was bright, and maybe that was why out of all of his lovers, Sora was the one he spent the least amount of time with, because that sunshine was often far too much for him.

Ventus was different. Ventus was vulnerable, and soft, and child like, and often Vanitas thought that Roxas and Ven should swap skin tones and hair colour, because Ven was surely the more angelic of the two. Ventus was his 'honeymoon period', his childhood sweetheart with which his tender side always came out.

Ventus was frailer than Sora; quieter and more like a holy light than a blazing sun. Going out with Ven often equated to going to the movies; a bookstore, a nice dinner or somewhere in the country side where they could just sit on the hood of the car and hold hands whilst looking at the view. Ventus was easy to talk to; he smiled at many things and laughed and was a little naïve about how the world worked, but he also knew how to be quiet, and often their days would start in the kitchen, both sipping from a mug of hot chocolate and enjoying the simple silence and togetherness.

Ven wasn't one to stay out late; they tried to time their trips to start at dawn and end at dusk, taking the time to watch the sun rise and fall before heading home to curl up on the couch together, Vanitas flicking through the TV whilst Ven curled against his side with a book or a bored stare of his own at the digital box that never seemed to show anything good.

In about half an hour, a movie would come on, but neither would be watching. Ventus' hand would come up to stroke the raven haired teen's cheek and they would spend hours just starting at each other, the only light available coming from the TV as they exchanged chaste, soft kisses and whispered secrets and little words of devotion to one another, like it had always been like this, and it always would be.

Taking Ventus to bed meant making love. No sex, just gasps and adoration and pulling the flushed blonde to his chest and watching as he fell asleep, sighing and cooing under his breath in his sleep in that cute way that was all his own. Vanitas liked to be this person; to be comfortable and peaceful with Ventus, happy to talk and be philosophical or silly or whatever they needed.

But he wasn't just that person, and that's why he had Sora. And that was especially why he had Roxas.

He looked like an angel, but when he and Vanitas meshed, he was the devil incarnate. They were both snappy with each other; not unaffectionate but certainly rough, and fighting was just their way of getting the other riled up enough to have a bruising, erratic fuck.

Neither of them was particularly right in the head. There were days when Roxas couldn't feel, not at all. There were days when Vanitas wanted nothing more than to hurt somebody, something, and in a way their love/hate relationship was beneficial, a way to vent and feel without taking it out on Sora or Ventus, when neither of them could possibly handle it. They didn't leave the house with each other; never. They simply waited till Sora and Ven were off about their daily business before screaming and shouting, and causing each other pain. They relished it, something hurtful that could make them feel more relaxed, vibrant around the two little lights that were simply, they had agreed, too fragile to deal with this.

They weren't typical, not around each other. Out of the three relationships Vanitas was in, it was the one most likely to be called unhealthy, and that's exactly why he wanted it. Between them there was an unspoken agreement; behind closed doors, they were one another's eternal salvation. For those times when they simply could not be what society deemed acceptable, what Sora and Ventus needed. They frequented each other's bed, and it was unspoken between them that if Roxas or Vanitas needed the other, plans were put on hold.

Because those erratic fucks, those vicious bruises across their bodies, the little games they played with each other and those constant fights of dominance was something they only found in each others arms. There was no cuddling, no lying in each other's arms, just angry, heated fucks and soft, lingering kisses before one or the other headed to a different bedroom, affection there, but not enough to drive each other into the pleasant comfort that was far more easily found within their opposites.

And when they were both calm, they could barely stand each other. Civil, to the point of friendliness at time, but Roxas was a winter, ice cool at any given time till the cold got to the point of unbearable and he couldn't stop himself from jumping into the fire.

It wasn't a style of living many, if any at all, would agree upon. As far as anyone familiar with them was concerned, the four boys were simple roommates, perhaps brothers, sharing a three bedroom apartment and living their lives as comfortably as possible.

Within though, it was…harmonic. Each of them brought a piece to it that flowed, made it all perfection. It was so simplistic, invaluable… and Vanitas considered that the reason as to why he suspected it would never last.

He'd honestly thought Roxas would be the first to go; a bit more outcast from the rest of them than even he was, there for Sora's sake, mostly, the kind, young brunette who had dragged him into their apartment when he'd been homeless and destitute, and insisted that Ven and Vanitas give him the time and effort he'd deserved.

But still, there had always been a part of Roxas, after he had gained more of himself, more emotion, relaxed into the warmth that Sora and Ventus provided and learned to use the opportunities Vanitas provided to his advantage that had seemed to look for more than what they had. Something simpler, wilder. All that he'd needed in one. Yes, Vanitas had expected him to leave first.

It came as a shock, then, when Sora stepped through the door one afternoon, tentative but smiling, leading a soft little redhead in by the hand, telling them that he was intending to move out and take up a new life with her.

And their boyfriend.

There had been no tears. Ventus had gotten over his shock quickly, smiling just the right amount and introducing himself to Kairi, chatting with her in almost childlike excitement as they went to pack up Sora's things. Sora remained behind, visibly relaxing into a more happy nature as Vanitas merely shrugged and nodded his head, ready to let Sora- their youngest, their happiest, the one he had spent the least amount of time with- go.

Roxas walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Sora never followed.

Sora had always been one to hoard things. Between the four of them, it took hours to collect the various oddities Sora wanted to keep, bits and pieces he'd bought spontaneously on the street, ticket stubs from every date he'd had with his three soon to be ex-lovers, the purple bear Vanitas had won him from the board walk.

The only thing that remained, in the end, was the necklace Roxas had given him on his last birthday. The only item Roxas had brought with him into this little apartment aside from the clothes on his back. When the three others had left the room, Vanitas had pocketed it. There was no need for such inadvertent, if not innocent, cruelty.

There was little else, after that. Boxes had been packed in a sleek sports car, Vanitas giving the silver haired driver a level stare, a poignant warning as to what would happen if Sora ever came back to them with less than free will and a smile, and after some brief, and maybe awkward, hugs, a promise to stay in touch, visit-

Summer was gone.

Dinner was quiet, that night. Roxas had yet to return, and Vanitas had to wonder- would he, at all? Ventus was lost in his thoughts, calm in visage which remained until they decided to turn in, curling upon Sora's bed without thought, smile dropping when Vanitas pulled him to his chest.

"I'm happy for him, I am. I just-" …What more could either of them say? Neither slept, listening to the sounds of the city nightlife and each other's breathing, perking up when, close to dawn, sounds of life appeared in their little apartment.

Roxas joined their small fold, wedged between them as a still, emotionless shadow, and the pendant in Vanitas' pocket seemed to burn. In an affectionate gesture, a first in a night of first, he brushed a hand through Roxas' hair, lost in plans revolving around the same singular thought-

Roxas would not stay.

With Sora gone, their home lost much of its vibrancy. It still suited, fitted their quiet and often calm personalities, but in those first few days, the silence had been unbearable, with no highlight to the day. They spent their time together, aside from when Vanitas had work, or Roxas fell into deep brooding and left the house for several hours at a time. There was no need to exchange words when it came to Ventus- he was never left alone.

It only took two weeks, for Roxas to find what he needed. Facial expression closed and voiced clipped, he told them both that he had found someone else, avoiding their gaze. There had been no need to come back at all, Roxas not being one for sentimentality and his few things barely filling a few boxes, but it had some meaning that he did, even so.

The emotionless winter had melted somewhat, and Ventus murmured quietly that night that without them, without Sora, he wouldn't have made it this far. It was their time to accept that, in order for him to grow, Roxas needed to move on as well.

Ventus watched TV for the rest of the night whilst Vanitas hung out the lounge room window, smoke between his lips and Roxas' pendant slowly turning between his fingers. He'd expected this; expected it all, and through it all, he'd been…grateful, for this chance to live and co-exist with others.

There was only one more thing that needed attending to.

A week was what it took to hunt down someone even mildly suitable. But the search was worth it. It was worth it, when he watched Ventus shake hands with the taller brunette in friendly confusion, to wish him and Terra well on their date, and to turn, walking out of the restaurant with nothing more to say.

He'd never meant to get attached to start with. Their co-existence, however, had been something unexpected, something that had occurred without warning. But it had worked.

He wasn't stupid enough to think it worked for any less a reason than all four of them co-existing perfectly together. And with Sora and Roxas gone, there was little else he could do aside from find Ventus someone far more suited to the gentleness he required.

The apartment seemed so empty. It was a relief to sit on the window sill, cigarette once again between lips as he watched the world pass by on his own.

He could remember Ventus from when they were younger, back from when he'd been a bully of a child ready to pull the little blonde's pigtails. Why Ventus had followed him here, to this busy city and this dingy apartment that initially they'd struggled to afford, he didn't know.

He could remember Sora, lips pursed to stop the bright, ecstatic laughter that had escaped anyway, a chance meeting on the streets all thanks to a mime who had practically been carrying a sign screaming 'sabotage me'.

He could remember Roxas, a pale, dirty urchin, dragged towards him gently by soft, soothing lovers with little to no chance of Vanitas being capable of refusing him a home, grabbing him bodily and shoving him under the cold spray of the shower to his indignant screeches of protest.

He could clearly see them both, at the door. Going out, one after the other, mere phantoms to each other. He doubted the two would ever speak again, despite Sora's best attempts.

It was only fair that he had let go of Ventus himself.

Vanitas was not one to cry; there was nothing to cry for. He didn't regret his actions. He didn't regret theirs; didn't regret having them stay, the time he'd spent with them, the time they'd spent with each other. He was… different than he had been, when he'd first come here with Ventus. No longer a perpetual moonless darkness, there was now a glow to his skies.

He'd remember that, even when it faded.

"Vanitas." He looked up then with a bland expression, despite the small amount of surprise he felt at Ventus' presence already. The blond looked confused, and honestly angry. He opened his mouth to question it, ask how badly the date had fallen through, already considering the blue haired girl he'd spoken to the other day, another contender-

But his head merely jerked to the side, cheek stinging from the harsh slap, sound of flesh striking flesh echoing through the apartment.

Words were softly spoken, in a voice he knew by mere memory alone, but with such iron in it that Vanitas had to wonder if this was the same boy he'd known since childhood. Tempestuous, ridiculing him for his decision, ringing with pain as he was accused of abandoning him, demanding Vanitas slow down, and look at him.

And then Ventus sat down and told him what he'd never wanted to hear; that all they'd been doing this whole time was hiding.

Love wasn't about fitting together seamlessly. Perfection, it was what they had obtained; and Sora had been the first to seek something new, a challenge and an adventure that hadn't merely turned into the simplistic routine of every day. Growth was not made by standing still, by running from one person to another, merely because their characteristics suited your own better at that point of time.

What they'd had was merely the four of them running away from what love really was, even if it was in good company.

So, Ventus told him simply, ignoring his incredulous expression as he curled up on the window seat beside him, taking the cigarette from limp fingers and flicking it out the window. It was time to stop running. A real relationship was one with troubles, and compromise. It was about being asked to do things you really didn't want to, and doing them anyway. It was about arguments, and hurting each other, and forgiving each other all the same.

Ventus had been with the three of them so long, he'd forgotten who Vanitas really was, all of him. And doubtless, the other had forgotten as well. He wasn't leaving, till he'd had the chance to fix that.

Summer was gone. Winter had vanished.

But seasons never really stayed; not really. They dashed away, taken upon by heat or cold, leaves falling, flowers fading and growing once more, constantly in shift. Ventus was not a season. Neither was Vanitas.

And maybe, in their own way, there was more to it than a simplistic childhood sweetheart.


End file.
